Empty houses show badly, and it compounds
A vacant listing degrades in ways that are invisible week to week and obvious over two months. Temperature drifts to whatever the thermostat was left at, so the house feels cold or stuffy on arrival. Traps dry and the property develops an odour. Dust settles on every surface. Cobwebs appear at the entry within weeks. Flyers accumulate. Lights on timers stop working and nobody notices.
Buyers do not itemise these. They form an impression — that the property has been neglected — and neglect reads as leverage. The offer that arrives reflects it.
You are also carrying risk you did not plan for
You are paying for two properties, and the one you are not living in is the one that could produce a claim. Everything that threatens any vacant property applies: freeze risk, undetected leaks, weather damage nobody documents, and entry into a house that visibly announces its own emptiness.
There is an insurance dimension too. A property whose owners have moved out with no intention of returning may be considered vacant rather than unoccupied, which in many policies triggers restriction of exactly the coverages you would need. This is a conversation to have with your broker as soon as you move out, not when the house eventually sells.
Showings create their own problem
Every showing puts people through the property, and nobody verifies the state afterwards. Doors left unlocked. Lights left on. The thermostat adjusted by someone who found it cold. A gate left open. Taps run and left dripping.
None of these are anyone's fault exactly, and all of them accumulate. A property being shown regularly needs someone confirming its state between showings.
What actually keeps a vacant listing sharp
- Every fixture run on each visit so traps stay sealed
- Temperature held at a consistent, comfortable setting
- Flyers and mail cleared from the step and entry
- Entry swept, cobwebs removed
- Lights and blinds set before showings, verified after
- Doors and windows confirmed locked after showings
- Grass cut and yard maintained on a schedule
- Walks cleared within a day of snowfall
- Bins moved on collection day
- Feature sheets restocked if the agent supplies them
- A photograph sent before an important showing confirming the property is ready
The Realtor relationship
Your agent markets and sells the property. Physical care of an empty building is a different job, and one that many agents end up doing informally because nobody else will.
Keeping those separate is better for everyone. The agent focuses on the sale. The property gets attended to properly by someone engaged for it. And the agent is not the last person in an empty house before a pipe lets go, which is a position no one should be in casually.